Link-bending machine



(No Model.)

J. BAIRD.

LINK BENDING MACHINE.

No.'287,359. Patented 0ct..Z3,188 8.

' NITED STATES PATENT Quince.

J AMES BAI RD, OF ALLEGHENY, ASSIGNOR TO REITER & 00., OF PITTSBURG,

PENNSYLVANIA.

LINK-SENDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 287,359, dated October 23, 1883.

Application filed January 22,1883. No model.)

To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BAIRD, of Allegheny City, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Bending Chain-Links; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrip tion thereof.

My invention relates to machines for bending links for welding into chain. As these links are generally oblong or oval in shape, and some surplus metal'must be provided to form the weld, the mandrel around which the links are bent is necessarily of peculiar shape, being oblong and of greater thickness at one end than at the other, and heretofore difficulty has been experienced in holding the rod to be bent up to this mandrel, the means heretofore employed being, generally, two or more cams 2o journaled around the mandrel and geared to turn at the same speed, the cams conforming in shape to the mandrel and holding the rod against it as it turns. The principal objections to these machines were that they were necessarily complicated and required different cams to suit each mandrel, and it was also found that the cams would not give or yield to the irregularities of the rod, and for this reason were very liable to break, causing annoyance and loss of time. Machines have also been constructed for this purpose in which the roll holding the rod against the mandrel was adapted to yield to the pressure of the mandrel; and my invention relates to machines of this class, its principal object being to simplify the construction of these machines, and, by

means of a sliding block carrying the grooved pressure-wheel, to obtain a more direct pressure of the wheel'against the mandrel.

It consists, essentially, in a rotating mandrel, a grooved wheel mounted in a suitable frame supported on a sliding block, a pivoted lever carrying said sliding block, and a spring secured to said lever for holding the wheel against the mandrel and regulating the pressure thereof.

It also consists in certain means for holding the rod to the mandrel, when first fed thereto, until bent around it.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe its constructionand operation, referring for that purpose to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a face View of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a top view of the mandrel and wheel. mandrel and wheel, and Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the lipped washer for holding the rod to be bent to the mandrel.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

In the drawings, A represents the frame of my improved machine, having the bearings a a, in which the operating-sh aft B is journaled. This shaft is rotated by the gear-wheel O, which meshes into the pinion 0, turned by a belt passing over the pulley c, or by other suitable power. The shaft B is preferably formed hollow, to make it light, and in one end thereof is secured, by any suitable means, the mandrel cl. The mandrel shown is for forming an oblong link, and it is formed of greater diameter in cross section at one end than at the other, being so constructed in order to provide a surplus of metal at the end of the link where the spiral rod is cut apart, and where the weld is formed, asabove described.

The mandrel (Z is made tapering, so as to free the links therefrom as they are bent around it, and by adjusting it in the rotating shaft so as to bring different diameters of the mandrel above the wheel the same mandrel can be employed in bending different sizes of links. the pressure-wheel e,which is grooved for the reception of the rod to be bent around the mandrel, and which holds the rod up against the mandrel. This pressure-wheel is mounted or journaled in the framef at an angle to the mandrel, as shown in Fig.3, so that the rod is bent around the mandrel spirally, and thus forms a succession of chain-links, to be after-. ward sheared apart. I

The pressure wheel is supported on the sliding block 72, mounted in vertical guide- -ways h on the frame of the machine below Fig. 4. is an enlarged face View of the Below the mandrel d is supported the mandrel, the frame f being secured by bolts at the top of the sliding block and pivoted at one side of the frame. A is the lever which carries this sliding block. By this construction the motion of the pressure-wheel e is always in a vertical line, and therefore it has a direct upward pressure against the mandrel even when bending large links, a result which cannot be obtained where the frame IO f is secured directly to the lever g, as it must then move in a circle from the pivotal point of the lever.

The lever g is provided at its end with an oblong hole fitting over a bolt, k, on the sliding block h, thus allowing play for the end of the lever in its motion. Connected to the bedplate on which the machine-frame A rests is the spring-box Z,inelosing the heavy spiral spring m, which is confined between the top plate, 1, of the box and a plate, n, within the box, and abar, 1), extends through the box and is secured to the plate n, so that when the plate is raised by this bar the spring is compressed within the box.

The bar 19 is connected by a hook, p, to the screw-rod 0", which passes through the end of the lever g, and is held therein by the thumbnut a", so that the powerof the spring m is thus communicated through the lever g to the pressure-wheel c, to hold the link-rod against the mandrel.

The pressure of the spring is regulated at will by the thumb-nut r, according to the different sizes of link and thickness of linkrod operated upon.

Instead of the thumb-nut, any other suitable means for regulating the pressure of the spring may be employed. 7

In order to lower the pressure-wheel e when inserting the link-rod, I mount on the machine-frame the eccentric s,which extends under the lever g back of its pivotal point, and

has the arm 8, by means of which it is pressed against the lever, and thus lowers the wheel.

In Fig. 5 is shown the lipped washer t, which is employed to hold the link-rod to the mandrel when first fed thereto. The washer t has an angular hole,t, corresponding in shape to the mandrel, so that it may he slipped on the end of the mandrel, and has the lip a, which extends over the rod and holds it to the mandrel, as hereinafter described.

The operation of my improved machine is as follows: The link-rod to be bent by the machine is fed by the operator between the mandrel d and pressure-wheel e, the wheel being depressed by the eccentric s,to permit the entrance of the rod. He then catches the end of the rod extending beyond the mandrel and wheel by means of a rod having a bore in the end, (a piece of pipe or a pair of tongs,) and bends it around the mandrel, as shown in Fig. 3, and slips the washert on the end of the mandrel, so that its lip it passes over the rod and holds it against the mandrel. The mandrel is then rotated, and as the rod is held to the mandrel by the washer t, and is pressed against it by the pressure-wheel e, the rod is wrapped around it spirally, the pressure of the wheel against the rod causing it to conformitself to the shape of the mandrel. As the mandrel is tapering and the rod is fed thereto at an angle, as shown in Fig. 3, the bent link-rod is gradually fed off the mandrel, carrying the washer t with it, and as soon as the washer is carried off the mandrel it is removed. The machine then automatically bends the rod, the part wrapped around the mandrel,and the pressure-wheel holding it to the mandrel until the entire rod is bent into a spiral coil, each coil forming a link. The

spiral coil is then cut by any suitable shears into links, which are then ready for welding. The pressure of the wheel 0 against the rod can be made sufficiently strong by means of the spring on to conform the rod exactly to the irregular shape of the mandrel, and in case of anyirregularity in the rod the spring will permit the wheel to yield, so as to permit the rod to pass between the wheel and mandrel, and thus prevent the breaking of the machine by the strain brought upon it.

By means of the thumb-nut r the spring at can be compressed or extended, so asto cause a greater orless pressure of the wheel e against the rod inbending rods of different thicknesses, and by changing the mandrel or altering its position the machine can be thus adjusted to bend different thicknesses of rods and different sizes or shapes of links.

Instead of the lip u on thewasher, any equivalent means may be employed on the washer for holding the rod to the mandrel.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In link-bending machines, the combinationof the rotating mandrel d, sliding block h, carrying the grooved pressure-wheel e, lever 9, and spring m, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In link-bending machines, the combination, with the rotating mandrel, of the washer if, having the lip 10, substantially as and for the purposes set'forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said JAMES BAIRD, have hereunto set my hand.

' v 7 JAMES BAIRD. Witnesses: I

JAMEs I. KAY, J. N. Cooxn. 

